In the field of automotive weather sealing, retaining clips are frequently used to secure weather sealing strips to the periphery of a window opening. The retaining clips are generally designed so that they can be mounted onto the periphery of the window opening by inserting a portion of the retaining clip into an elongate aperture or slot pierced into the sheet metal defining the window opening. While it is desirable that the retaining clips be capable of being easily inserted into the slots with a minimal amount of force, it is also desirable that the retaining clips upon being inserted into the slots of the window opening are held fast so that they cannot be easily extracted by exerting forces on the retainer clip or attached weather seals in a direction outward from the slot, i.e. a high ratio of extraction forces to insertion forces is highly desired to facilitate installation while also reducing the potential for inadvertent extraction. While it is highly desirable that the extraction forces necessary to remove the clip be relatively high to prevent inadvertent extraction, it is also desirable that the retaining clip be provided with means for facilitating extraction when desired such as for servicing or replacement.
FIGS. 1-3 show a typical prior art retaining clip 10 which is designed to be mounted within a rectangular slot pierced into a narrow surface which defines the lower perimeter or beltline of a window opening in an automotive vehicle door. Referring to FIG. 3, an exposed metal sheet which forms the outer door panel 12 is generally bent or stamped inwardly and then sharply downward to form a narrow inverted U-shaped channel 14 between the outer exposed sheet 12 and an inner downwardly depending leg 16. A narrow, substantially horizontal surface at the top of the inverted U-shaped channel 14 defines the lower periphery of the window opening. A plurality of narrow, rectangular slots are pierced or cut into the sheet metal along the narrow, substantially planar surface defining the lower periphery of the window opening with the long side of the slot aligned with the bottom periphery of the window opening. The retaining clips 10 are designed to be inserted and locked into the rectangular slots. The retaining clip 10 has a sinusoidal-like cross section, as shown in FIG. 2, which is defined by a substantially planar central portion 18, an integral planar arm 20 which extends downwardly from the top of the central portion via an inverted U-shaped portion 22, and an integral planar arm 24 which extends upwardly from the bottom of the central portion via a U-shaped portion 26.
The entire clip 10 is made of a springy or resilient material which when deformed exerts forces in the opposite direction, tending to return the clip to its original shape.
The retaining clip 10 is secured to the bottom periphery of the window opening by pushing the downwardly depending arm 20 through one of the narrow, rectangular slots formed in the narrow, substantially horizontal surface defining the bottom perimeter of the window opening. The retaining clip 10 is pushed through the slot so that the downwardly depending leg 16 is sandwiched between the central portion 18 and arm 20 of the clip. When the retaining clip is nearly fully inserted into the slot, the long outward edge of the slot slidingly engages and inwardly depresses the outward surface 27 of an upwardly projecting springy prong 28 causing the prong to resiliently bend toward the central portion of the clip. The prong 28 has a shoulder portion 30 and an inwardly offset upright lip 32. When the clip 10 is fully inserted the end of the outward surface 27 of the prong 28 slides past the long outward edge of the slot allowing the prong to spring outwardly with the shoulder portion sliding under the long outward edge of the slot until it engages the lip 32 of the prong 28. The springy prong 28 is still partially bent inward from its original position and thus forcibly engages the long outward edge of the slot via lip 32 thereby locking the clip into position.
The upwardly extending arm 24 is shaped and spaced from the central portion 18 to securely accommodate a beltline sealing strip 34. A horizontal groove 36 near the top of the inward wall of the upwardly extending arm 24 is provided to receive a conforming rib 38 of the sealing strip. The rib 38 is narrower at its base than at its top and the groove 36 is wider at its bottom than at its opening to ensure that the sealing strip is firmly secured by the clip.
Because the lip 32 of clip 10 is nearly flush with the top edge of the rectangular slot into which the clip is inserted, there are almost no surfaces to which a tool can be applied to depress the lip to remove the clip. Accordingly, one disadvantage with the prior art retaining clip is that it is difficult to remove such as for purposes of automotive body repair work.
While the lip can be lengthened to extend into the window opening to facilitate removal, this is generally not desirable since it would interfere with and require a bulkier sealing strip design to accommodate an outwardly projecting lip. In addition, such a design would tend to increase the possibility of inadvertent removal of the clip when relatively small forces are laterally exerted on the sealing strip 34.
Another disadvantage with the prior art retaining clip 10 is that while it is relatively difficult to extract from the slot in the window opening for servicing or replacement after the sealing strip has been removed, the amount of force exerted on the retainer clip or attached weather seals in a direction outward from the slot which is needed to inadvertently dislodge the clip 10 from the window periphery is somewhat less than might be desired.
Accordingly, a retaining clip for securing a weather sealing strip to the periphery of a window opening in an automotive vehicle, and having a high ratio of extraction forces to insertion forces to facilitate installation while also reducing the possibility of inadvertent extraction, and which can be easily removed for servicing or replacement yet be free of parts which project substantially above the slotted opening into which it is inserted and retained would have advantages over the prior art and would thus be highly desirable.